Playing cards will pay off in a big way for an Oakland man later this evening. Mike Perry, a 40-year-old electrician, has turned a twice-a-week poker hobby into a chance of winning as much as $1.7 million later tonight in final games of the World Poker Tour. Perry has spent the past few days rising through the ranks of more than 600 other poker players, securing a berth in the final six. He is guaranteed to win at least $200,000. His wife, Amanda Perry, left their three children with her sister and set out for Foxwoods casino in Ledyard, Conn., to be with Perry today as he competes for first place. "I knew that he would eventually get this far," she said via cell phone as she rode down with a friend. "I was confident he would get this far; I just wasn't sure when this would happen." As he waited for her to meet him at Foxwoods, Perry said that he would consider playing poker professionally if he takes first place in today's final games, which begin at 4 p.m. "I might," he said. "If I win $1.7 million, I might think about it. But I have three young children, and a beautiful wife. A very understanding wife, I should say. She's been very understanding with me." But his wife doesn't consider herself a "poker widow."
"No, he calls me a lot," she said with a laugh. "And I understand the game ... I understand his passion for the game."
Perry began playing casual poker in 2001, then began playing online before graduating to smaller tournaments in the $600 range. While he describes his online performance as being merely "OK," he realized that his strength lay in playing live poker. After cashing in six or eight tournaments, he chose to play the World Poker Main Event.
Poker players have the option of either buying a guaranteed seat in the tournament for $10,000 or playing hundreds of other players for a spot. Perry chose the second route.
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